Harry Potter and the Polar Express
by R. L. Ravenclaw
Summary: How can you believe in Santa Claus if he's never even visited you before? That's the question nine year old Harry Potter wants answered. This year that question will finally be answered with the help of a certain train. HP/PE crossover.
1. Chapter 1: Santa Doesn't Come to Freaks

**Harry Potter and the Polar Express**

**Summary: How can you believe in Santa Claus if he's never even visited you before? That's the question nine year old Harry Potter wants answered. This year that question will finally be answered with the help of a certain train. HP/PE crossover.**

**Chapter One: Santa Doesn't Come to Freaks**

Snow was softly falling on that Christmas Eve night while everyone was making preparations for the following day. Some were hanging up their bright Christmas lights for all to see while others were bustling around the kitchens preparing for the big feasts that were to be shared with friends and family. Children were hanging up their stockings and setting out milk and cookies for Santa, hoping that they'd wake up the next morning to find presents under their tree. Yes, it was definitely a happy time of year for everyone…except for one small boy by the name of Harry Potter.

Nine year old Harry Potter stood slightly leaning against the window as he stared outside, watching the neighbors put their final touches on their Christmas displays. As he watched the tiny, colorful lights flicker and shine brightly, he sighed in despair, wishing this holiday wasn't so miserable for him.  
You see, Harry was orphan. His parents had been killed when he was just a baby. After their deaths, Harry was forced to live with his horrible aunt and uncle who simply hated him for no reason. He'd never been treated fairly or even given decent clothes to wear. He was only given enough food to keep him alive, but sometimes they'd take that away too if they said he'd done something wrong even if it was as little a thing as missing one spot of dust in the living room or not getting breakfast made fast enough for his over-weight uncle and cousin. Every morning his Aunt Petunia would give him a long chore list and demand that it be done before his Uncle Vernon came home from work or else. Uncle Vernon would usually just glare at him and sometimes slap him upside the head or when he thought he needed it, punish him. Dudley just enjoyed making Harry's life miserable by doing whatever he could to remind Harry that his relatives hated him and that he was an unwanted orphan who had nothing.

Harry never understood why his family hated him so much, but after years of trying to please them and get their acceptance, he gave up. It was impossible. Nothing he did would make them tolerate him let alone like him. So for him, Christmas was a miserable time of year.

Just as he watched one of the neighbors across the street come down a ladder after putting up his lights, Harry heard his aunt calling him from the kitchen. With an internal grown, he began to make his way towards the kitchen to see what his extremely demanding aunt wanted. When he walked into the kitchen, he found Petunia at the stove stirring something or other in a pot while Dudley sat at the kitchen table, stuffing his face with a huge bowl of ice cream.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked in a polite voice knowing that if he didn't, he'd be in huge trouble…again.

"Break those beans and stick them in the refrigerator." She demanded in a hateful tone as she pointed to the pot of green beans on the counter opposite of her. Dudley snickered as Harry started on the beans. Harry of course ignored the brat because by now he was used to his cousins taunts.

Finally after helping his aunt in the kitchen for another hour, Harry was aloud to leave. Petunia handed him a small cheese sandwich and told him to go eat in his cupboard so they wouldn't have to see his disgusting self while they had Christmas Eve dinner. Harry sighed as he pulled open the door of his 'room' and sat down on the old mattress that was his bed. As he ate his pitiful dinner, he wondered what it would've been like if his parents had never died. _"I'd probably be sitting at the dinner table, eating a huge dinner with them while we talked and laughed about nothing important." _Harry thought to himself as he finished the last bit of his sandwich.  
There were times when he dreamed that some long lost relative would come and rescue him from his cruel relatives, but Harry was beginning to give up on those childish fantasies. No one was ever going to come for him. No one was ever going to love a freak like him. _"It's best if I just give up." _He thought.

A few years ago, he'd even written a letter to Santa asking for a new family, but it was ripped out of his hands by his horrid cousin who then gave it to his aunt. Petunia then slapped Harry in the face and shrieked, "Santa doesn't come to ungrateful, little freaks!" She then tore up his letter and threw him into his cupboard. Dudley had then teased him for weeks about it and constantly told him that Santa didn't come to ugly, little freaks.

After that he'd never tried to write to Santa again, but this year, he had decided to try one last time. He knew it was childish, but he just had to try just this once. So in his letter he wrote,

_Dear Santa,_

_I don't know if you're even real, but I'm gonna try to write one last time. Please sir, all I want is to have someone to love me and take care of me. My relatives hate me and can hardly stand to look at me. I don't know what I did to make them hate me so much. All I've ever wanted is to have a family who loves me. Please just let me have this one wish and I'll never ask for another thing again._

_Harry Potter_

Harry had made sure that no one had seen the letter and had snuck it into the mailbox before his relatives ever found out about it. Only the mailman would've been able to see it and he never would've said a thing about it. Harry still doubted that the letter would do any good, but there was still that tiny bit of hope that Santa did exist and that he would for once listen to him.

* * *

After three hours of listening to the Dursleys eat and watch TV, Harry fell asleep, only to be awoken an hour later by the awful nightmare that had haunted him for as long as he could remember. In the nightmare, all he could hear was someone screaming and a flash of green light followed by an intense amount of pain. Harry shot up so fast he nearly banged his head against the ceiling of the cupboard. That nightmare usually left him a little shaky for a few minutes.

As he sat there on his old mattress, he started to hear soft ringing noise, but as he continued to listen, the ringing got louder and louder and was soon accompanied by the whistling of a train. Harry sat in stunned silence for a few seconds before throwing his cupboard door open and running to the living room window. The sight that he saw out in the front yard made his jaw drop and his eyes widen in complete shock. Out in front of the house was a huge express train.

Without even stopping to think, Harry ran outside and stood right in front of the train with wide eyes. _"This is impossible!" _he shouted in his head as he continued to stare at the huge train in front of him.

Then he heard a shuffling sound coming from further down the train. "All aboard!" the voice shouted. When he looked closer, he saw that it was a man dressed in a uniform. He was obviously the conductor of this train. Unable to resist the curiosity, Harry made his way towards the conductor and was soon standing right in front of him. He was an older gentleman with a light brown mustache and glasses. He looked much nicer than his uncle and unlike his family didn't give him a hateful look.

"Well, you coming?" the conductor asked.

Harry looked up at him, confused, "Coming where?" he asked.

The conductor smiled brightly, "Why, to the North Pole, of course!" He then motioned to the train beside them, "This is the Polar Express!"

Harry was still extremely confused and was having a rather hard time believing that this was actually happening, but he did have a part of him that was pushing him to get on the train, "The North Pole?" he asked.

"Ah, I see." Said the conductor and then he turned around and pulled a clipboard down from the train, "Is this you?" he asked as he showed it to Harry. Harry nodded in reply. "Well, according to the letter you sent to Santa, it seems that you've been beginning to doubt his existence so in light of that fact, I believe that this is your crucial." He then leaned down a little so that his face wasn't so far from Harry's, "So if I was you, I would think about climbing on board."

Harry thought for a moment. He was still rather nervous about the idea, but the idea that Santa might actually listen this year nearly put a smile on the young boy's face. Either way, if it wasn't real he'd just wake up in his cupboard the next morning, but if it was, he'd at least be away from the Dursleys. So with after Harry gave the conductor a nod, he helped the boy up onto the train and led him into one of the train's cars.

**Author's notes: Oh, the excitement was pumping through me as I wrote this! I just love this movie and the idea for this story just hit me (rather hard I might add) while I was watching it yesterday. I'm of course gonna have to change a few things, but that come with the crossover territory.**

**I also realize that in England they use the term, 'Father Christmas' instead of Santa. Well, I'm an American and we use the term, 'Santa Claus' which is what they also use in the Polar Express so I'm sticking with that. I mean no offense to anybody out there.**

**Thanks so much for reading and please leave a review! Merry Christmas!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

**Chapter Two: The Journey Begins**

**Author's notes: Alright, so here it is. I didn't revise much cause guess what? The story generally follows the same plot as the Polar Express. It just has a Harry Potter twist to it which will show up more in the later chapters. And as a wonderful reviewer reminded me, if you don't like it, then don't read it. Also, don't flame it either. That's just rude. **

**I've started working on the third chapter so hopefully an update will be soon. I'm going to hush up now before my temper gets the better of me.**

For a few minutes, Harry stood rather still in the doorway of the train car, watching the other children. They were all happy and jumping around the seats, talking excitedly about the trip, or singing Christmas songs. Not wanting to be noticed, Harry sat near the back away from most everyone except for the blond boy in the seat across from him. The boy was looking at him curiously and it made Harry even more nervous than when he had walked into the car.

Soon, they all felt the jerk of the train as it once again started making its way down the tracks. Harry looked out the window and watched as Privet Drive became smaller and smaller as the train continued on its journey to…the North Pole? Harry still wasn't so sure about that. _"Oh well, it's better than being at the Dursleys." _He thought as he looked out the window at the English countryside.

"Hello!" said a voice from the seat in front of him. Harry turned his head and saw a girl about his age with brown bushy hair. She smiled a smile that showed her somewhat large front teeth. Harry gave her a confused look, but she just continued to smile brightly, "I'm Hermione."

"I'm Harry." He said, not wanting to be rude even though he didn't feel much like talking at the moment, but the girl, Hermione, seemed to miss that little fact since she continued to talk.

"Can you believe we're actually going to the North Pole? Sometimes I still wonder if this is a dream, but it couldn't possibly be one because I've pinched myself a thousand times already trying to prove it. Oh, do you think this train really is magic? I'm hoping it is. There couldn't possibly be any other way a train could show up in my front yard without the whole neighborhood noticing." She said this really fast, almost to the point where Harry couldn't understand a word she'd said. He was honestly surprised that he had understood it all.

"Of course this train's magic, you idiot." Said the boy across the seat from Harry. He had a sneer on his face as he looked at the bushy-haired girl.

Hermione looked extremely insulted at being called an idiot, but as she opened her mouth to retort, the conductor walked into the car again. "Tickets, please." He said as he snapped his hole puncher a few times to get the children's attention. Everyone immediately got back into their seats and settled down.

The conductor then turned to Harry, "Ticket, please." But Harry shook his head no because he knew he didn't have one. "Try your pocket." He insisted. Harry gave him a confused look, but did what he was told. When he stuck his hand into the pocket of his raggedy pajama pants, he felt what he thought was paper. Slowly, he pulled it out and stared at it with a shocked look on his face. In his hand was a golden ticket with the Polar Express written on it and a picture of the train on the back.  
Harry handed the conductor the ticket and watched as the conductor not only punched one hole, but ended up punching out two letters into his ticket. When the conductor handed the ticket back to him, he saw that the two letters were B and E. Wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion, Harry put the ticket back into his pocket, thinking about how strange this whole thing was.

"Well, that guy certainly likes to show off." Said the blond boy. "Look what he punched on my ticket." He said as he showed it to Harry. A large L and E had been punched into his ticket.

Harry gave the boy a shrug before turning his attention back to the window. Not long after everyone had settled down again, the train once again jerked to a stop. In front of the train stood a strange shaped house in what seemed to be the middle of no where and there in front of it stood one lone red-headed boy with a look of shock and wonder on his face. Soon the conductor made his way towards him and began to tell him about the wonderful train Harry and the rest of the children were on. Harry had a sense of déjà vu as he watched them through the window, but unlike Harry the boy shook his head no and took two steps back from the train. With a sigh, the conductor said, "Suit yourself." and climbed back onto the train.  
With yet another jerk, the train began to slowly move again and as the car that contained the other children passed the red-headed boy, Harry gave him a small wave. The other boy stopped for a minute and then seemed to change his mind. He then started to run to catch up to the train. "Come on!" Harry cried as he watched the boy continue to struggle to reach the train. "Hurry up!" Harry shouted, but the train was beginning to speed up and even though the boy seemed to be a little taller than most boys his age, he just couldn't catch up and soon fell onto his face in the snow.

Not wanting to leave him there, Harry jumped from his seat, "We have to the stop the train." He insisted to the blond boy and Hermione.

"And how are you going to do that?" the blond boy asked, but just as he finished talking Hermione pointed towards the end of the car.

"The emergency brake!" she yelled. Not a second after the words left her mouth Harry had run to the back of the car and gave the brake a rather hard yank. The train skidded to a rough halt, throwing all the children off their feet and making them land onto the floor with a hard 'thump'.

With a groan, Harry rubbed his sore head as he stood up and when he looked up at the window in the door, he saw the red-headed boy take a quick look into the car before he turned around and went into the last car. _"Maybe he's just shy." _Harry thought.

Suddenly, the door at the other end of the car slammed open with a loud thud as the conductor stomped in. "Who in the blazes pulled that emergency brake?" he shouted.

"He did it!" the blond boy yelled as he pointed to Harry.

The conductor turned and stomped over to him, "In case you didn't know, that cord is for emergency purposes only." He said before opening up one of the windows and motioning for the engineer to start up again. "And in case you didn't know, tonight is Christmas Eve and in that case, this train is on a very tight schedule!" he added before he turned around and headed back to the front of the car, "Now everyone take your seats please." Every single child immediately jumped back into their seats and sat still, "Thank you." The conductor said. He then grabbed the radio, "Are there any Polar Express passengers in need of refreshment?" he asked over the intercom.

Most of the children raised their hands and screamed "Me!"

"I thought so." The conductor said before stepping aside from the door. Suddenly the door slide open and in came men dressed as waiters doing summer salts and singing,

_Hot, hot,_

Conductor: _Ooohhh, we got it!_

_Hot, hot_

Conductor:_ Say, we got it."_

_Hot chocolate!_

The waiters spun the seats around so they resembled booths in a restaurant and then they pulled off their aprons and put them into the middle of the space between the booths. Immediately, a table materialized under the apron that was a table cloth. Harry wore a shocked expression on his face as he pocked the table. It still stood strong especially when the waiters jumped on top if each table and started dancing. A cook had followed behind them, pushing a cart that held a hot chocolate machine.

Conductor: _Here we only got one rule._

_Here we only got one rule._

Conductor: _Never, ever let it cool._

_Never, ever let it cool._

_Keep it cook'n in the pot._

Conductor: _Soon you got hot chocolate!"_

By now the conductor was also dancing along with the waiters while the children were served huge mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Harry looked around and saw most of them had hot chocolate mustaches. He was sure he had one as well, but didn't really care. He'd never tasted anything so good before. The Dursleys had never aloud him of all people to have such a treat.

After he had drunk half of his cup, he saw Hermione subtly slip her full cup under the seat. Of course one of the waiters brought her a whole new one which she too began to enjoy. Harry looked at the full cup under the seat curiously before it hit him. _"Oh, she's saving that for the red-headed boy. He probably hasn't gotten any." _He thought as he started to feel a little guilty for not thinking of the other boy.

Conductor: _Hot, hot_

_Yeah, we got it._

Conductor: _Hot, hot_

_Oh, we got it!_

Conductor: _Hot, hot_

_Yeah, we got it._

Conductor: _Hot, hot_

It seemed as if everything was cleaned up in a wink of an eye after the song was finished. The waiters swept up the dirty dishes and the tables quickly disappeared when they grabbed the table clothes. The seats were spun back around as the cook and the waiters left the room. The conductor followed behind them and slide the door shut.

Harry felt as if he stomach would burst after his second cup of hot chocolate. Oh, but it felt good to have his stomach filled with that chocolaty goodness. With a sigh, he leaned back against the seat and wiped the chocolate from his lip. When he looked up, he saw Hermione pick up the cup of hot chocolate and head toward the door. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"It's for him. He didn't get any and that's just not fair." She replied.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Harry asked, a little worried she'd get in trouble.

"Yeah, we're not supposed to cross cars without an adult." The blond boy said with a smirk.

Hermione seemed to think for a moment before replying, "I think I'll be okay." She then turned around and started heading for the door again.

"I still don't know about this. Maybe we should just wait for the conductor to come back." Harry said as he stood up. If there was one thing Harry had learned at the Dursleys, it was that there were always consequences to breaking the rules and they were usually very unpleasant. The last thing Harry wanted was for Hermione to get into trouble.

Before Hermione could answer, they head footsteps approaching. All three children looked up and saw the conductor in front of them. "What about this lad in the back? Did he get any refreshment?" he asked somewhat sternly. All three children shook their heads no. The conductor then dropped the stern look on his face and smiled, "Well, let's take some to him by all means!" He said before leading Hermione out the door.

Harry watched them go and sighed with relief that nobody was gonna be in trouble, but as he turned to sit down, he noticed a certain gold piece of paper on Hermione's seat. "Uh oh," he said as he picked it up, "She forgot her ticket and it hasn't been punched." Harry stopped for a minute, thinking about what he should do. Should he run after Hermione and risk getting in trouble? But then again, wouldn't Hermione get in trouble if she didn't have her ticket? After deciding what he should do, Harry quickly started heading towards the door with the ticket firmly in his hand.

"Where are you going?" the blond boy asked, but Harry didn't pay him any mind as he slide the door open and stepped out into the cold. He looked into the window of the car in front of him and saw Hermione giving the red-headed boy the cup of hot chocolate.

Unfortunately, a strong wind blew just as Harry was about to cross onto the other car. The wind ripped the ticket right out of his hand and blew it in the opposite direction. "No!" Harry yelled as he ran back into the car. He watched as the wind blew the ticket all the way to the end of the car where the ticket then got caught on the last window.  
Quickly, Harry scrambled up the seat in front of it and opened the window, hoping he'd be able to snatch the ticket, but unfortunately, the wind once again blew it away. He watched in horror as the golden piece of paper flew into the forest the train was passing through. His heart sank at the thought of losing that girl's ticket. She'd been so nice and he had lost her ticket! He felt absolutely awful. Hermione would hate him after this and she would be in serious trouble now all because of him.  
Harry slumped into the seat as he felt tears well up in his eyes. How could he be so stupid? He should've just left her ticket on the seat where she would've found it after she came back. The Dursleys were right. He always screwed stuff up. Who would want to be friends with him if all he ever did was get them in trouble?

Soon the back door slid open and in walked Hermione and the conductor. Harry watched them as Hermione sat on the seat. The conductor began to walk past her, but stopped and turned back around, "Young lady," he said to her, "Forgive me, but I've neglected to punch your ticket."

Hermione nodded before looking around the seat for her ticket. She started to look somewhat panicked when she turned back to the conductor, "I left it right on the seat, but I can't find it." She said, in a saddened tone.

The conductor gave her a stern look, "You mean you have lost your ticket?" he asked, his voice raised a little.

Harry immediately jumped off of the seat and said, "She didn't lose her ticket." He then walked closer to them. He wasn't going to let her take the blame for him. He was the one who screwed up and he was the one who should be punished. "I did. I saw that you left it on the seat so I was trying to get it back to you, but the wind blew it out of my hand. I'm really sorry, Hermione." He said sincerely. Without a second thought, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his own ticket. He thought she deserved it far more than he did. "Here, you can have my ticket."  
Hermione smiled at him and reached out for the ticket, but just as she was about to accept it from him, the conductor ripped it out of his hand, "These tickets are non-transferable." He sternly insisted. Everyone stood in silence for a few seconds before the conductor spoke again. "Young lady, you'll just have to come with me." He then took Hermione's hand and led her back out of the car.

Hermione gave Harry a scared look as she walked through the door. Harry felt so helpless as he stood there watching her being forced to leave. _"What have I done?"_ he thought.

"You know what's gonna happen now, don't you?" the blond boy asked, but he continued before Harry could answer, "He's gonna throw her off the back of the train." All the children gasped and Harry's eyes widened in horror. "They'll slow down the train a little bit, but certainly not stop it." He added, with a small smirk on his face.

A horrible image of Hermione being thrown of the train popped into Harry's head, making the guilt even worse. He just had to do something! Then an idea slammed Harry right in the head, "That's it!" he shouted, "I have to stop the train again!"

"No! You're gonna get us all in trouble!" the blond boy said, but Harry wasn't listening as he ran to the back of the car and reached for the emergency brake. However, just as he was about to pull on it, he saw a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye. When he looked up, he saw a bit of golden paper in the vent. Quickly, he climbed up onto the seat and pulled the piece of paper out just as it was about to get sucked into the vent.

For a few seconds, Harry couldn't believe what he was actually holding. In his hand, was Hermione's ticket! He could save her! Everything was gonna be alright. Harry then jumped off the seat and ran out the door, praying that he'd get there in time. When he reached the edge of the car, he stopped for a moment, thinking about the last time he stood there. Not wanting to lose the ticket again, he put it in his mouth before jumping onto the next car.  
After sliding the door open, Harry raced to the end of the car as fast as his legs could take him, but when he looked out the door, there wasn't anyone there. _"No! I can't be too late!" _he thought. Quickly, he turned and walked over to the red-headed boy, "Where did they go?" he asked in desperation.

The red-headed boy pointed towards the ceiling just as a shadow of Hermione and the conductor could be seen through the window. Without a second thought, Harry instantly ran out the door again and saw a ladder leading to the top of the train. Carefully, he climbed up it and onto the roof of the train. In the distance, he saw a speck of light from the conductor's lantern. "Hey! Wait! I've found your ticket!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, but they were just too far away and couldn't hear Harry's voice over the wind.  
As Harry trudge through the large amount of snow, another light in the distance began to glow and with each step he took, the scene became clearer and clearer. Soon he saw in front of him what appeared to be a campfire and there in front of it sat a middle-aged man who was clearly a hobo. He was sitting on what looked like an old crate and playing an instrument Harry had never seen before.

The hobo didn't notice him until Harry was standing in front of the fire. He looked up at Harry with a curious look on his face, "Is there something I can do for you?" he grumbled.

"I'm looking for a girl." Harry replied, sounding a little stupid, but standing in front of this strange man was making him rather nervous. Although, if you were in his shoes, I think you would be too.

The hobo paused for a minute before saying, "Looking for a…" he then started laughing rather loudly for a little while. "Ain't we all?" he shouted before laughing some more.

"I have her ticket and I've got to get it back to her quick." Harry said, showing him the ticket.

The hobo took the ticket and looked it over in his hand, "Well, lookie. Lookie here. What is this?" he paused for just a second then said, "This is an official, authentic, genuine ticket to ride. Oooohhh, you better keep this in a safe place, young man." He said this last part as he handed the ticket back to Harry, "If I was you…I keep all my valuables right here." He pulled off his shoe which had a hole in the bottom, "Right here in the old size 13. Experience shows that this is the safest place."

Harry nodded as the hobo put his shoe back on and put the ticket into the old and filthy slipper that Dudley and worn out. "Not that I have that much use for those…tickets." The hobo continued, "I ride for free. Oh yeah, yeah. I hope aboard this rattler any time I feels like it. I own this train. Yeah. It's like I'm the king of the Pol Ex. In fact," He then stood up and spread out his arms as he shouted, "I am the king of the North Pole!"

Harry looked up at him in confusion for a few minutes until the hobo sat back down saying, "Oh where are my manners. Sit, sit. Sit take a load off." Harry reluctantly did as he asked. "Hey, would you like some Joe?" he asked as he pulled a coffee pot off of the spit that was over the fire, "Nice hot refreshment. Perfect for a cold winter's night." He said before pouring some in a tin cup and handing it to Harry.

Harry looked down into it and saw that the coffee was rather gritty and smelled sort of funny, but at least it was warm. It was only after he had taken the first sip that he saw the hobo pull a dirty soak out of the coffee pot. Harry spit that stuff out of his mouth so fast; it made him chock a little. "Bless you." The hobo said as he ringed out his soak.

"But what about Santa?" Harry asked, curiously.

"Santa?" the hobo asked in confusion.

"Isn't he the king of the North Pole?" Harry asked.

"You mean this guy?" the hobo asked as he pulled a red Santa hat out of his coat. He then put it on his head and started 'ho ohing' like Santa, but it soon turned to laughing. "What exactly is your persuasion… on the big man since you brought him up?" he asked as he pulled the hat off his head.

"Well, I…I want to believe, but." Harry said, truthfully. He really did want to, but it was extremely difficult after the many years of disappointment.

"But, you don't want to be bamboozled. You don't want to be led down the primrose path. You don't want to be conned or duped, have the wool pulled over your eyes. Hoodwinked. You don't wanna be taken for a ride, railroaded." The hobo jumped off his crate after he said all this and dumped the rest of the coffee on the fire. It seemed like it was only a second before everything was packed up and in the hobo's pack. "Seeing is believing. Am I right?"

Harry looked up at him, somewhat shocked, "But what about this train?"

"What about it?" the hobo asked.

"We're all really going to the North Pole. Aren't we?" he asked still doubting the truth of it all.

"Aren't we?" the hobo repeated the question somewhat mockingly.

Harry felt his heart sink again as he asked, "Are you saying that this is all a dream?" _"I should have expected that. Nothing good ever happens to freaks like me."_

In the blink of an eye, the hobo snatched the coffee cup out of Harry's hand and said, "You said it, kid. Not me." He then drank the rest of the coffee before throwing the cup away. "So," he said as he bent down and grabbed his crate, "let's go get that girl!" the hobo then started walking towards the front of the train before turning around and walking back towards Harry, "By the way, do you believe in ghosts?" he asked.

Harry was about to shake his head no in reply, but then again he wasn't so sure anymore so instead, he just shrugged his shoulders. The hobo then nodded, "Interesting." He said.


	3. Chapter 3: Definitely Not an Ordinary Tr

**Chapter 3: Definitely Not an Ordinary Train**

Harry stood shaking in a pile of coal, still freaked out by the crazy ride to the engine. The hobo he had met was helpful and all, but the ride he took Harry on was definitely not one he would've liked to repeat any time soon. Skiing on the roof of a train that was going down a steep hill was definitely not how Harry expected to spend his Christmas Eve. It would've been a fun ride if he had known at the time that he would've made it to the engine alive. Either way, he was here and still in one piece and that was all that mattered at the moment.

When Harry walked further into the engine, he saw with a great surprise Hermione sitting on the engineers seat with a huge smile on her face. "Hermione!" he shouted as he rushed over to her, "Are you okay? What are you doing here?" he asked still in shock to see her there.

"I'm doing great! They even put me in charge while the engineers are fixing the light!" She said, brightly.

"You know how to drive this thing?" Harry asked, nervously as he looked at all the buttons and levers.

Hermione nodded, "It's rather easy." She then explained what a few of the levers did. When she pointed out where the whistle was, a small spark of excitement started to well up in Harry eyes. Hermione of course saw this spark and asked, "Do you want to try it?" Harry grinned brightly as he pulled on the whistle long and hard.

"This is absolutely brilliant!" he exclaimed before pulling the whistle a second time with a huge grin on his face. Never before had he had so much fun! This was a million times better than spending another night in his cupboard. Harry wished that this moment would never end. He'd never before experienced this much fun…at least, he didn't think he had. He couldn't remember if he'd had fun times like this with his parents.  
Unfortunately, this wonderful moment ended just as quickly as it had begun. For it was then that Harry and Hermione heard the very faint sound of the engineer's voice. The two children dashed towards the window to hopefully hear what he was saying. "Stop the train!" they heard him shout.

Hermione immediately ran back over to the levers and pulleys. Harry followed her and asked, "Which one is the break?"

"This one." She said pointed to a yellow lever, "At least I think it is." She looked between the yellow lever and a red one, "But it might also be that one." She added as she pointed to the red one.

Harry looked out the window, his eyes widened in fear as he saw something in the distance, "Hermione, hurry!" he yelled over the roar of the engine.

Hermione kept looking back and forth between the two levers for another second before she made her final decision and pulled the yellow lever. The two children were knocked off of their feet as the train's breaks roughly pulled it to a hault. Harry got up onto his feet and looked out at the front of the train. He sighed with relief when he realized that Hermione had pulled the break just in time, but then he noticed what exactly was blocking the tracks. Before he could tell Hermione what it was, the conductor jumped down into the engine. "What in the blazes is going on here?" he shouted when he saw the children.

"Look!" Harry exclaimed as he pointed towards the front of the train.

The conductor leaned out the window and yelled, "Caribou crossing!"

A few minutes later, the two children and the conductor found themselves at the front of the train with the engineers. "I'd say there's a hundred thousand out there. Maybe even a million! It's gonna be hours before they clear out!" the first engineer said.

"Oh, we are in some serious jelly." The conductor groaned as he looked out seemingly endless amount of caribou.

"In a jam." The first engineer added.

"Tight spot." The second one added.

Harry tried to walk a little closer to the railing, but he slipped on the icy platform and would've fallen on his face if he hadn't grabbed onto the second engineer's long, red beard. The engineer made a fun yelping noise when Harry had grabbed it. Then, strangely enough, the caribou started making noises similar to the engineer's yelp. It was almost like they were communicating or something. The conductor looked between the engineer and the caribou for a second before he grabbed hold of the engineer's beard and yanked on it rather hard. The engineer once again started yelping each time the conductor pulled onto his beard and each time he yelped, the caribou responded. It was like they were communicating with each other. The conductor pulled on the engineer's beard three more times and each time the caribou backed away. After the third tug, all the caribou cleared the tracks. Harry and Hermione stood at the railing looking on in amazement as they watched the creatures run off into the woods.

"Now, all ahead slow!" the conductor shouted when the engineers returned to the engine.

Harry's eyes widened as the train jerked to a start again. This was the most exciting night of his entire life! He couldn't believe he was standing on the platform at the front of a train that was on its way to the North Pole! _"If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up!"_ he thought as the train continued down the tracks. The air was cold, but the young boy could care less. The fun and excitement of this adventure made it so nothing could possibly dampen his good spirits…but that didn't mean he couldn't get scared as the train began to ascend some rather high inclines. They had tried to tell the engineer to slow down, but he couldn't hear them above all the noises from the train. The conductor did his best to secure the children to the railing as they approached what he called Glacier Gultch. "That's the steepest downhill in the world!" Hermione exclaimed as the train nearly reached the top of the incline.

"In that case, I suggest we all hold on tightly!" the conductor screamed as the train shot down the hill as if it was on a huge roller coaster. The children screamed right along with the conductor as the train continued to go down, up and then back down again at an extremely fast speed. Harry's stomach felt like it had jumped up into his throat as he held onto the railing as tightly as his little hands could. He looked over at Hermione and saw that her face was rather pale and her eyes were wide as the crazy ride continued.  
Unfortunately, as the train descended the last hill, they saw that the ice had frozen over the tracks. When the train hit the trackless ice, Hermione's grip on the railing slipped and she started falling of the side of the train. The conductor grabbed onto the back of her nightgown just in time, but his feet started slipping on the icy platform. She was screaming in absolute terror as she dangled over the edge of the train with only the conductor's loosening grip keeping her from falling. When he saw the conductor begin to lose his footing, Harry grabbed a hold of the conductor's coat and pulled as hard as he could, but the strength of an under-fed nine year old wasn't anywhere near enough to pull them all back onto the train. Just as Harry's grip began to slip, he felt someone grab the back of his baggy shirt and pull them all back onto the train. It was the hobo! Harry's jaw dropped as he watched him press his finger to his lips and disappear into the wind. _"This may be a fun dream, but it sure is strange." _He thought.

Hermione was shaking like a leaf when the train had finally stopped. She latched onto Harry's arm as the conductor guided them back to the engine. "It's okay, Hermione. Everything's fine now." Harry said, trying to soothe her so she'd loosen her death grip on his arm.

"I don't like heights." She whimpered as they reached the engine.

"What in the name of Mike?" the conductor shouted down to the engineers from the roof.

As the conductor continued shouting down at the engineers, Harry felt Hermione tug extremely hard on his thread-bare sleeve and say in a terrified voice, "Harry, look." She pointed a little ways behind the train. There the ice was beginning to crack!

"Sir, the ice is cracking!" Harry screamed to the conductor.

The conductor looked up at the cracking ice and yelled to the engineer, "Get us the blazes out of here!" As quickly as was possible, the train was turned around speeding across the lake. Harry and Hermione were clutching the top of the engine so tight, they're knuckles were as pale as the snow all around them. Finally, they saw a wonderful sight ahead. "Tracks!" Hermione shouted with relief. The train swayed back and forth as the conductor helped the engineer guide the train towards the tracks.

It was then that Harry felt his shoe begin to slip off. _"Oh, no! Hermione's ticket!" _He thought as he let go of the railing with one hand to force his shoe back on. Unfortunately, his other hand started to slip as he desperately tried to shove the ticket back into his shoe.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione screamed as she grabbed his slipping hand to secure it back onto the railing.

"I'm trying to make sure your ticket doesn't get lost again!" he replied as his shoe finally cooperated and slipped back onto his foot with the ticket safely tucked away inside of it.

"You found my ticket?" Hermione asked over the noise of the train.

"Back in the passenger compartment right after you and the conductor left!" he replied.

Hermione opened her mouth to thank him, but instead screamed when she saw that the ice had broken out from underneath them and the train was falling into the lake! Harry watched in horror as the train fell through the ice. Now he really prayed that this was all just a dream. However, instead of plummeting to the ice depths of the lake, the train pulled onto the tracks just in the nick of time. With a hard jerk, the train pulled itself up out of the water and then calmly made its way down the tracks. "Well, that is more like it." The conductor said before jumping down through the hole to check with the engineer.

Harry then sat up and pulled Hermione's ticket out of his shoe, "I'm really sorry I lost it in the first place." He said as he handed it to her.

Hermione took the ticket and smiled brightly up at him, "You were just trying to do the right thing by returning it to me so you have nothing to be sorry for! You also came all the way from the other end of the train just to get it back to me! You're a really nice boy, Harry. I couldn't ask for a better friend." And with that said, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. For a moment, Harry was completely stiff in her arms. He'd never been hugged before…well, at least for as long as he could remember nor had he had a friend before. He was really unsure how to respond to this gesture, but he didn't want to seem rude so he awkwardly wrapped his arms around his new friend, returning the hug.

"Did someone say they found a ticket?" the conductor said as he pocked his head up out of the engine car.

"Yes" Hermione said as she showed him the ticket.

"Well then," he said and then stuck out his hand, "Ticket, please."

Hermione handed him her ticket and he punched in two letters. Both children looked at it in confusion. "I T? It? What's he mean by that?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." Hermione replied.

Not long after that, the conductor began leading the two children back to the passenger cars. It was extremely slippery up there so the conductor warned them to walk with caution. Harry nearly slipped, but the conductor grabbed his wrist before he went tumbling off of the train. "First time I was working on this train, I nearly fell off myself. I was just out making my rounds when it happened. I slipped and fell, but…I did not fall off of this train." He said as he helped the children climb down off of the coal car.

"How?" Harry asked. He had a feeling he might've known the answer to that already, but he wasn't sure.

"Someone must have pulled you up then." Hermione said as the conductor helped her down from the ladder.

"Or something." He added before opening the door to the car in front of them.

The children gave each other a look of confusion. Harry shrugged his shoulders before following Hermione into the train car. Once inside, they were a little startled to discover that the entire car was filled with dirty and broken toys. Dozens of marionettes were hanging from the ceiling, all tangled up with one another and absolutely filthy. Broken toys of all kinds were strewn across the floor and the seats. Harry couldn't believe the horrible condition of some of these toys. Many of them were worse off than the large number of toys that Dudley broke on a daily basis. Hermione looked completely shocked at the sight in front of her. How could anyone do such damage to these once lovely play things? It was positively despicable.

"Watch your step." The conductor said as he walked down the aisle of the car. "These toys have suffered enough."

"Where'd they all come from?" Hermione asked.

"Oh many places, really. Alleys, dumpsters, wherever they've been forsaken and abandoned." He replied.

"Why?" Harry asked as he stepped over a Jack-in-the-Box with a missing head.

"It's a new program the boss came up with. Old toys are gathered up and refurbished. He calls it re-bicycling…or something like that." The conductor responded when he reached the door.

The children followed him quietly, stepping over the scattered toys. Just as Harry reached the end of the aisle he felt something fall onto his shoulder, making him freeze in place and then a creepy voice behind him said, "You're just like me my friend." Harry slowly turned around and came face to face with an Ebenezer Scrooge marionette. "A Scrooge!" it cried, "Ebenezer Scrooge. Santa Claus, this train it's all a bunch of humbug!" Harry looked up and saw that the marionette was being controlled by the strange hobo. "Oh yeah, I know what you are." He made it say. "You're a doubter!" he screamed as Harry bolted towards the door. "A doubter! You don't believe." The hobo screamed once again as Harry slammed the door closed.

Panting heavily, Harry looked around the car where the rest of the children were located. They all acted as if nothing had happened in the past hour. Every single one of them was jumping around and/or singing at the top of their lungs without a single care in the world. After a minute, Harry realized that Hermione wasn't even there. Where could she possibly be? He started to make his way towards the door at the back of the car when the blond boy from earlier blocked his path. "Where have you been? You missed the whole thing. They said we'd ridden on a frozen lake, but that's just impossible. Only an idiot would believe such things. I can't….Hey, where are you going now?" he shouted as Harry pushed past him.

When he looked through the porthole on the door, Harry saw Hermione at the end of the other car walking out onto the end of the caboose. Wondering what she could possibly be doing, Harry wandered out into the caboose and headed towards the back door. She just stood outside beside the shy red-headed boy. They were just talking softly. It appeared that he was beginning to open up. Harry wasn't sure if he should step out and join them or not, but then Hermione turned around and saw him standing in the doorway. She smiled and beckoned him to come on over to them.

"Harry, this is Ron. Ron, this is Harry." She said, enthusiastically.

"Hi" Ron muttered.

"Hello" Harry mumbled in response.

"I was just telling Ron about what happened at the frozen lake." She said, cheerfully.

Ron smiled slightly and asked Harry, "Did that all really happen?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, it was pretty…exciting." He softly replied. _"Maybe frightening is a better word for it."_ Harry thought.

"Sounds like a bit more than exciting." Ron responded.

Harry smiled a little as the conversation between the three children progressed. It seemed he had now gained two friends which was two more than he'd ever had. Both of them were rather nice and didn't mind that Harry was skinny, pale, and wearing hand-me-down clothes that were dirty and torn. They didn't seem to mind that he wasn't all that talkative or that he couldn't see without his tapped up glasses. They actually were willing to get to know him and vise versa. This was turning out to be the best Christmas Eve he'd ever have…but was it all just a dream? Harry was still unsure.

**Author's notes: Wow, I'm awful. It took me nine months to post this chapter. I'm really trying to finish this story. It's all planned out. It's just a matter of sitting down and writing which has become more difficult after starting college. Yippee…**

**Anywho, thanks so much to all of you who gave me suggestions for the word that will be punched out on Hermione's ticket. They were all great suggestions, but alas I had to choose only one. However, they all kinda had the same point. Hermione needed to depend less on book knowledge and more on street smarts/experience/instinct.**

**So thank you to Lt. Cmdr. Radner for giving me the word 'instinct'.**

**Also, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and being patient with me. This story will be finished if it's the last thing I do!**


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